Color By Number

We went to Michaels this weekend for some reason and I ended up coming home with color by number book. I had intended on getting one of the paint by sticker books but in my haste I didn't check what was in my hand and ended up with a color by number instead. 

When I got home I opened the book looking for the stickers and realized there weren't any in there! Initially I thought I'd grabbed a book that someone had ripped the stickers out of but soon realized that the mistake was mine and I was now the proud owner of a color by number. I was a little disappointed and thought I'd return it but then boredom/laziness struck and I figured I'd give it a try. When you first look at the page you'll be coloring it isn't completely obvious what it is, which I like. I love seeing how it comes together as the colors are added. There is a small finished version of each page a the back of the book for reference but it's fun to go into it without any idea, in my opinion.

At first there's no way to tell what this is, but as I keep coloring, it becomes clear that it is the Seattle skyline. It's clear to me anyways. If I'd have used colored pencils the colors would probably have been truer but I'm happy with what I ended up with. For me it's just about relaxing and enjoying the process, I'm not really too worried about mistakes or exact color.

These books are meant to be colored with colored pencils but I prefer markers so I just have to make it work with the colors I have. Using colored pencils takes a lot more time and wears my hand out faster so I prefer the quicker method using marker. I use ultra fine point Sharpies and Bic markers and feel that they both work really well. There isn't a lot of bleed from either of them and they have lasted quite a while. The kids grab these from time to time as well and they've held up even when being used by the kiddo's. 

I've already started my second page and I also ordered a couple of the books I originally thought I was buying (I got this one and this one) and am looking forward to giving them a try.